"This is the biggest thing that has happened in my career," said
Kazuhiro Wada, a 14-year veteran who at the age of 38 becomes the oldest
man to win the award. "My manager said he would use me in various spots
in the lineup (hitting third, fourth and fifth) and it worked out well,
as this was my first year to win the CL pennant."

In his third season with the Dragons, Wada played in all 144 games
for the second straight year and led the team in batting average (.339),
home runs (37) and RBIs (93). His bat helped the club win its first
Central League title since 2006, before they lost in seven games to the
Chiba Lotte Marines in the Japan Series.

"I wasn't really concerned about my personal stats, I just wanted to
help the team win," said Wada, who spent the first 11 years of his
career with the Pacific League's Seibu Lions.

In the PL, Tsuyoshi Wada finished just 17 votes ahead of teammate and
fellow-lefty Toshiya Sugiuchi in the MVP ballotting. Wada shared the
league lead in wins with 17 (tied with Chihiro Kaneko of Orix) while
posting a 3.14 ERA with 169 strikeouts. Sugiuchi won 16 games with 218
Ks and a 3.55 ERA as the pair played a major role in the Hawks claiming
the PL pennant.

"I'm surprised but happy," said Tsuyoshi Wada, who garnered 76
first-place votes. "Last year I had some elbow trouble so I was
determined to make the most of this season to see if I could regain my
old form.

"It was good that neither me nor Sugiuchi got hurt this year. We
talked at the beginning of the season and said we both wanted to post
winning records in 2010."

Marines shortstop Tsuyoshi Nishioka, who hit a PL-best .346 and had
206 hits this year, finished third with 44 votes. He is expected to move
to the majors this offseason.

Yomiuri outfielder Hisayoshi Chono was named the CL Rookie of the
Year, the third straight season a Giants player has taken the award
after Tetsuya Matsumoto in 2009 and pitcher Tetsuya Yamaguchi in '08.

"I was able to do everything I wanted this year as an individual but
I'm disappointed my team didn't win the championship," said Chono, who
posted a .288 average with 19 home runs and 52 RBIs over 128 games in
his first year out of the Industrial League. "I found the level of play
in NPB high and I'm glad I could play up to the level of the best
players in Japan."

Reliever Ryo Sakakibara of the Nippon-Ham Fighters was named the PL's
top rookie. In 2010, the right-hander went 10-1 out of the bullpen. He
struck out 54 over 72 innings while posting a 2.63 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP.

In the PL, the Best Nine were Tsuyoshi Wada on the mound, Motohiro
Shima of the Rakuten Eagles at catcher, the Buffaloes' Alex Cabrera at
first base, Fighters Kensuke Tanaka and Eiichi Koyano at second and
third, respectively, and Nishioka at short. The PL outfield was made up
of the Hawks' Hitoshi Tamura, Takahiro Okada of Orix and Seibu's Takumi
Kuriyama. Lotte's Kazuya Fukuura was the designated hitter.